Namoka
Namoka (Pron. na-'mo'-kə) is a former Glatorian of Fire and a member of the Toa Vayu. History Early Life Namoka was born around 5,000 years before the Great Reformation, the daughter of two retired Glatorian of Fire whose names have been lost to history. It is said before she even knew how to walk, the infant Glatorian had already learnt how to grasp the hunting bow, perhaps out of necessity more than anything else as Vulcanus was suffering from a food shortage at the time. Clearly, her parents were eager to have Namoka fend for herself as soon as possible. The remainder of Namoka's early life would be spent foraging for food, mainly edible succulents and small reptiles found in the great sands, and repelling any Zesk that ventured too close to the city. Vorox were handled by the Glatorian. Rookie Years It is notable that Namoka was one of the somewhat few Glatorian born into a village as most Glatorian declared their allegiance at some point for payment. Namoka, while still paid, was initially given less as she would never fight for another village and Raanu had no need to buy her loyalty. At about 300 years of age, Namoka began formal training as a Glatorian primarily under Ackar. She showed great promise, so great, in fact, that Raanu had mentioned at long last, there was a possible replacement for the aged First Glatorian of Vulcanus. It was not long before she began being compared to Gresh, Tesara's rising star. Though they were never too close, they had certainly heard of each other's meteoric accomplishments and respected each other as brother and sister-in-arms. Even during her early Glatorian career, Namoka threatened to revolutionize the way arena battles were fought; never had any Glatorian eschewed the Thornax laucher for another ranged weapon. Time and time again, her enemies would underestimate Namoka, and her incredible reflexes were enough to outmatch the other trainees or lesser Glatorian she was pitted against. As she, too, was a novice and therefore faced easier opponents, her matches had lower stakes but her many victories added up and garnered her much praise in Vulcanus. It was at this point Raanu recognized Namoka as a prized asset and increased her pay, out of both gratitude and apology. Near the end of her training, Namoka witnessed Gresh pin Malum down as he attempted to murder Strakk. Seeing this atrocity would eventually be one of the reasons causing her to question the entire Glatorian arena system. Glatorian Career With the exile of Malum, Namoka would have normally taken the role of Second Glatorian but her young age prevented this title from being awarded to her. Also worth knowing is her doubt for the arena matches, ignited from Malum's attempted murder, stayed more or less dormant throughout her relatively short stint as a Glatorian proper and she did not allow her conviction get in the way of her loyalty and pride for Vulcanus. The first notable battle in her 4,000 year career was against Tajun's Kiina over the control of two hot water geysers at the mouth of the Skrall River. Not only was this her debut just after the completion of her training, she was actually able to defeat her adversary. Tall tales often describe warriors executing backflips or handstands while firing Thornax; Namoka shoots Thornax out of the air with her bow. Whether this actually happened or not during the fight against Kiina has become the stuff of legend. Her next claim to fame was fighting Tarix to a draw not once, but twice. As such, she is the only Glatorian technically undefeated against Tarix. Namoka was actually somewhat infamous for ending matches in a draw, so much so that leaders of other villages would demand a rematch for important matches, but with another Glatorian of Vulcanus. Lastly, Namoka has set the record for the Glatorian lasting the longest against a Skrall, at around ten minutes. This fight against the Skrall was mere months before the fall of Atero. Though this isn't exactly something for her to be proud of, it attests to her ability to dodge, weave, and stay light on her feet despite the relentless ferocity of the Skrall. War with the Skrall Namoka was one of the many Glatorian sent to fight in the Great Tournament. Thankfully, she was not in the middle of a match when the Skrall were sighted by the Agori of Atero and was able to make it out of the arena alive, while also managing to shepherd five Agori with her. Namoka would later meet up with Ackar to inform Raanu and the rest of Vulcanus of this grave incident. Raid on Vulcanus After Ackar overheard Raanu, Gresh, and Gelu talking about an impending Bone Hunter raid on the village, Ackar immediately assumed control of the defense efforts. As he decided to strike preemptively against the Bone Hunters' base, he left Namoka in charge of defending Vulcanus while he was gone. The First Glatorian would return from thinning the Hunters' ranks soon after to set up various pits and spiked traps in preparation for the Bone Hunters' main forces. Namoka, as well as the other Glatorian and Agori, aided with this endeavour. The desert bandits attacked shortly thereafter and all of the Glatorian drove them off. Gresh, Gelu and Kiina would return to their respective villages. However, the Bone Hunters had deceived Vulcanus by faking their retreat. They attacked from the Sea of Liquid Sand in the dead of night and knocked the sentry unconscious before assaulting the village. Thankfully, Namoka was assisting the other Agori watchmen that night and managed to sound the backup alarm, mitigating the damage that would have been done by the Bone Hunters. The Raid ended when the Glatorian of the other villages arrived to assist. Arrival of Mata Nui Namoka was present when Mata Nui defend Ackar from Strakk in the Vulcanus Arena and wanted to accompany him on his journeys. However, she was charged by both Ackar and Raanu to keep Vulcanus safe while Ackar was gone. Thankfully, she only had to wait a few days before meeting with the exiled Great Spirit. Just before the creation of the Mega-Village, Mata Nui unlocked her fire powers much like he did with the other Glatorian he travelled with. Battle of Bara Magna After Mata Nui powered up the prototype robot, Ackar and Namoka took the Agori and other Glatorian of the Mega-Village to shelter at the behest of the Great Spirit. Shortly after, Teridax landed on Bara Magna while the Reformation was taking place. Namoka would then take part in the offensive led by Ackar against in an attempt to distract him. Spherus Magna Namoka would spend the first few months of the Reformation aiding Tahu, Ackar, Kiina, and Kabrua integrate the three vastly different societies of Aqua Magna, Bota Magna, and Bara Magna. Despite her eccentric ways, she became known for her efforts to teach Matoran a concept entirely foreign to them, that is, romantic love, as well making sure lasting friendly ties were made between the Matoran and Agori. In addition, it would be during this time Namoka noticed the closeness between the Matoran despite their different elements and outlooks, especially some curiously short ones. She would later learn they were mangled by a fearsome, mad, being known as Karzahni. Namoka came to be respected by those she worked with and Tahu eventually asked her to relocate to the distant north-eastern Vayu Peninsula, where a large settlement of both Agori and Matoran was developing. She would join the three Toa already stationed there and meet up with a fifth member, Chidori, on her way there. Namoka would then assist the construction of Adytum, the largest town on the peninsula, and stay there to protect its populace. Abilities and Equipment *'Fire Near-Mastery: '''Being a Glatorian-turned-Toa, Namoka does not have quite the same control over her element as Toa of Fire do, though in many cases, such differences are negligible. Her main three shortfalls are the inability to perform a Nova Blast, her capacity for storing Elemental Energy is slightly lower, and while she is able to absorb fire, she is unable to recharge her Elemental Energy by being in prolonged contact with it. Namoka, like all Toa, can utilise her Fire powers until she runs out of Fire Elemental Energy and needs to wait for it to recharge. On the bright side, her slightly smaller total Energy means less time spent on recharging. *'Composite Bow:''' Namoka's sturdy, trusty bow was originally crafted years ago from the supple branches of a Tesara tree. After gaining access to her latent Fire mastery, the bow transformed into her Toa tool. The grip and arrow rest are now of the hardest protosteel, and while the limbs are still wooden, no longer are they nicked and pockmarked with years of wear and tear. Though Namoka's bow itself is somewhat nondescript, it is of note that she would choose to use a bow as a Glatorian as that meant she forgoes the Thornax Launcher, the bread and butter of any self-respecting warrior's arsenal. Namoka more or less made up for this weakness with her quick footwork and pinpoint accuracy. Personality Namoka is a complex individual. Some consider her to be intimidating while others consider her to be a brilliant ally and friend. She has a vast network of acquaintances which has been built up due to her very approachable nature and calm demeanor. The knowledge she gains from meeting so many other people, coupled with her incredible perception of others and analytical ability, means that she has learnt a great deal in a very short amount of time and is more than willing to apply her knowledge to achieve her ideals. One of Namoka's foremost traits is her aversion to physical combat. As she spent more and more time as a Glatorian during her time on Bara Magna, she made a name for herself for forcing an opponent to concede without major bodily harm. Nakoma has seen her fair share of the Glatorian system and she believes it is flawed. This outlook was further pronounced due to the glaring contrast between Ackar and Malum, the two Vulcanus warriors she fought alongside regularly. She realizes that these arena matches have devolved into a way of life as there was no alternative; The extreme shortage of resources on Bara Magna had become more and more marked. Though the arena matches served very well to bring Agori into agreement as well as Glatorian together, Namoka ponders whether if these arena matches really are so necessary. Most Glatorian are already fairly close and the Agori should already understand the notion that killing each other benefits no one. She simply cannot understand how it takes two people to bash heads when those heads could be used for diplomacy and innovation. Though Namoka is an idealist, she is not a dreamer. Long before Mata Nui arrived on her planet, she had long advocated for peace by using both her pacifist ideals and innovations that attack the root of the problem: the shortage of resources. By meeting and listening to engineers and inventors from all six villagers over the years, Namoka developed simple inventions that, over the long run, did help to make the Agori's lives easier. Sand-based water purifiers created by her were used extensively in Tajun, while her lava flow mine schematic revolutionized energy production in Vulcanus and ensured its rise in power despite rarely expanding its territory as the years went on. With the planet now re-united and teeming with life, Namoka has shifted her focus elsewhere: using her to uniting the Agori and Matoran, and combating the societal and cultural problems that have cropped up due to the rapid advance of civilization. While limited in the past as she was only a single person fighting her world's problems, she has newfound hope in her Toa team. Known Moveset Appearances *A Lazy Summer Storytime Trivia *Special thanks go to and . *Namoka was once meant to be a joke character based on "Makona", a little-known fan-made corrupted Toa. As time went on, Namoka had a more fleshed out role. Her final iteration sees her completely depart from her original concept and is now a fully fledged character with no gimmicky tropes. *"Beyond the Hill" was composed by Takeshi Hama. *Namoka's theme song has changed many times, due to the fact her character has been difficult to develop and pin down as her story is written. This chosen track is most likely the final one as a clear direction for her character development has been ascertained. Category:User:ChineseLegolas Category:Glatorian Category:Fire Category:Canto Universe